Holding and releasing device for doors.



H. G. VOIGHT.

HOLDING AND RELEASING DEVICE FOR DOORS. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 10, 1913.

1,107,388, Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

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HOLDING AND RELEASING DEVICE FOR DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, 1913.

Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY G. VOIG-I-IT, OF NEW' BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN HARDWARE CORPORATION, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

HOLDING AND RELEASING DEVICE FOR DOORS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY G. VOIGI-IT, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Britain, county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Holding and Releasing Devices for Doors, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a device of use on elevator cars and the like and arranged to cooperate with sliding doors of an elevator well to hold a well door open and to release said door whereby it may be closed.

It also provides a construction which is operative to attain the result named despite the variance in the clearance between the edge of the elevator car and the door sills of the well.

These and other advantages will be more clearly pointed out in the following detailed specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part thereof and illustrating a preferable embodiment of the invention.

In these drawings Figure 1 is a frag mentary sectional view through a forward or sill edge of the base of an elevator car and through the opposite door sill, the door being shown in open position and the holding device in retracted position. Fig. 2 is a similar view, but with the holding device projected and in the line of closing movement of the door carried abutment. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the parts shown in F ig. 1.. Fig. l is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the holding device as secured to the forward or sill edge of the door and in retracted position.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, 1 indicates the base or floor of an elevator car, and 2 the sill of a door of the elevator well, there being a clearance space at 3 be tween the inner face of the sill and the forward face of the elevator car.

4 refers to the sliding door of the sill 2. This door may he of any construction providing it is of the sliding type and is arranged and normally tends to automatically return toward closed position when opened, so that it is necessary to interp'ose a stop in the event it is desired to retain the door open. To the lower forward edge of this door on its well side, is secured a flanged:

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 10, 1913.

formed in the flanges 6 of the frame. elongated slot 10 extends vertically of the Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

Serial No. 800,043.

bracket 5 having a flange projecting from the inner face of the door to a point out and beyond the vertical line of the door sills of the well and between said door sills and the vertical line of the forward edge of the car. The forward edge 5 of this flanged bracket provides a stop abutment carried by the door, which is designed to cooperate with suitable holding mechanism carried by the car and by means of which mechanism the door is held in open position and is released. This holding and releasing mechanism is constructed as follows: To the forward edge of the car floor 1, a rectangular frame 6 is secured, this frame extending vertically and above the floor of the car, the sides of the frame at opposite upper ends being provided with flanges as at 6. Within the rectangle of the frame, I mount a holding member in the form of a toggle comprising plates 7 and 8 hinged together at a point centrally of the frame as at 9, the lower end of plate 7 being journaled in the lower end of the frame as at 7 and the upper end of the plate 8 being provided with pins 13 extending laterally therefrom and guided in elongated slots 14 An toggle plates and spans the line of hinged interconnection of these plates. At the upper and lower ends of this slot 10, pins 11 are inserted through the plates and into the slot end, these pins acting as abutments to receive the opposite ends of a coiled. spring 12. If the toggle described is flexed, or moved from position shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 2, it will project out into the clearance space 3 so as to lie in the path of door closing movement of the door carried abutment 5 The frame 6 and toggle are, of course, positioned on the edge of the car at a point where they will lie immediately adjacent the forward edge of a door when it is retracted, the elevator car being at a point in the well just opposite the door opening. lln retracted position of the toggle, its pivot points are in alinement or on a dead center. When the toggle is projected, the toggle is flexed and moved to projected position 2); the coil spring 12 is tensioned; and the tensioned spring normally tends to yieldingly hold the toggle thus projected. The plate 7 of the toggle intermediate its upper and lower ends is provided with cars 15 between which the forward end of a link 16 is pivotally mounted, this link extending rearwardly of'the floor edge of the car and in a recess 1 cut in the car floor. A. suitable cover plate 17 is provided for this recess, from the rear under face of which project ears 17' which serve as a means for journaling below the plate a walking beam 18 having extending upwardly from its opposite ends through suitable bores formed in the plate 17, pivoted foot plungers 19. The walking beam 18 has a central lateral offset 20, to whose lower end the rear end of the link 16 is pivotally secured. It will be obvious that the operator of the elevator car, by depressing the rear plunger 19, may through the con nections shown, positively move the toggle stop to projected or stopping position, and that by subsequently depressing the forward plunger (which is now raised above the floor), the toggle may be retracted to the normal position as shown in Fig. l. The toggle and also the controlling plungers therefor, will be located, of course, at one side of the exit opening of the elevator car, and at a point where they will coiiperate with the abutment stop on theforward edge of the sliding door of the elevator well. The operator, therefore, may conveniently operate the plungers from the position where he would ordinarily stand in controlling the car.

The plates 7 and 8 when projected form broad. inclined surfaces which project out.

into the clearance space between the face of the elevator well and the edge of the car. Elevator wells in practice vary considerably in the clearance between the edge of the elevator car and the sill of the door.

In operating the toggle stop the elevator operator depresses the appropriate foot plunger 19 to flex the toggle and move it to forward projected position. This, of course, is done after the door has been opened so that the edge of the projected toggle will lie closely adjacent the abutment edge 5 of the door carried stop bracket 5 and prevent the closing of the door until it is retracted by the operation of the opposite plunger or until the car moves the toggle clear. Sometimes the car-carried stop member is accidentally left in projected position, or is moved into projected position by the accidental movement of the controlling means, while the car is moving upwardly or downwardly in the elevator shaft. Frequently where the wells, and particularly the door sills are not in vertical alinement, the projected stop will scrape against the sills bumping the car and sometimes being ripped entirely from the car. My present invention, however, makes such an accident impossible. The inclined broad faces of the toggle plates if engaged in either direction of movement of the car, with a projecting sill, will be gradually wedged inwardly, this wedging movement lifting the operators foot from the plunger should it be resting thereon, and permitting the toggle to yield and be moved backwardly to the normal position shown in Fig. 1, so that no harm is accomplished, and in order to make the stop again operative it will only be necessary for the operator to throw it again into projected position when he desires to hold any particular door open.

I have shown the toggle and its frame as applied to the outer edge of the car floor, but it is evident that it may be inset toaiford more clearance should this be found necessary or desirable. Furthermore, while I have herein described and shown a particular construction, it will be understood that the device of the present invention is susceptible of variation both in structure and relative arrangement of parts within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

hat I claim, therefore, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A holding and releasing device for sliding doors of elevator shaft-s comprising in combination with a manually operated sliding door having a projecting abutment, an elevator car, a stop member carried by the elevator car, and means under the control of the elevator operator for projecting said. member into the path of closing movement of said door abutment when in door opened position, and for retracting said member from such position to permit the door to be closed, said stop member'when projected being arranged to yield toward retracted position and means normally tending to hold said member in its respective projected and retracted positions.

2, A holding and releasing device for sliding doors of elevator shafts comprising in combination with a manually operated sliding door having an abutment thereonprojecting out into the elevator shaft beyond. the edge'of the door sill, said door normally tending to slide toward closed position, an elevator car, a stop member carried by the elevator car at its sill edge and movable relative thereto, means under the control of the elevator operator whereby said stop member may be projected from the edge of the car to a position adjacent and in the path of closing movement of said abutment to hold the door in open position, and whereby said stop member may be retracted from such position to permit said door to close, said stop member, when projected, being arranged to yield toward'retracted position on contact with theelevator well and means normally tending to hold said member in its respective projected and retracted positions.

3. A holding and releasing device for sliding doors of elevator shafts comprising, in combination with a sliding door having a projecting abut-ment, an elevator car, a toggle carried by the elevator car at its sill edge, means under the control of the elevator operator whereby said toggle may be flexed to project in part in the path of door closing movement of said door abutment when the door is opened, said toggle when thus projected being arranged to yield toward retracted position upon contact with the side of the elevator shaft and means normally tending to hold said toggle in its respective flexed and straightened positions.

4. A holding and releasing device for sliding doors of elevator shafts comprising, in combination with a sliding door having a projecting abutment, an elevator car, a toggle carried by the elevator car at its sill. edge, means under the control of the elevator operator whereby said toggle may be flexed to project in part in the path of door closing movement of said door abutment when the door is opened, and whereby said toggle may be straightened and retracted from such position, and means whereby said toggle is yieldingly held in projected position.

5. A holding and releasing device for sliding doors of elevator shafts, comprising in combination with a manually operable sliding door having an abutment thereon projecting out into the elevator shaft beyond the edge of the door sill, said door normally tending to slide toward closed position, an elevator car, a stop member carried by the elevator car at its sill edge and movable rel.- ative thereto, foot controllable means carried by the car and operatively connected with said stop member whereby said member may be projected from the edge of the car to a position adjacent and in the path of closing movement of said door abutment to hold the door in open position, and whereby said member may be retracted from such position to permit said door to close, said stop member when projected, being arranged to yield toward retracted position on contact with the elevator shaft.

6. A holding and releasing device for sliding doors of elevator shafts comprising in combination with a sliding door having a projecting abutment, an elevator car, interhinged plates forming a toggle mounted at the sill edge of the elevator car to swing toward and from the face of the shaft, means under the control of the elevator operator whereby said toggle may be flexed to project in part in the path of door closing movement of said door abutment when the door is open, and whereby said toggle may be straightened and retracted from such position, and means whereby said toggle is yieldingly held in projected position.

7. A holding and releasing device for sliding doors of elevator shafts comprising in combination a sliding door having an abutment thereon projecting out beyond the edge of the door sill and into the elevator shaft, an elevator car, a frame secured to the sill edge of the elevator car, interhinged plates forming a toggle, said toggle being hinged adjacent one end to said frame and adjacent its other end having a sliding connection therewith, means under the control of the car operator and in operative connection with said toggle plates whereby said toggle may be projected in part into the path of door closing movement of a door abutment when the door is opened, and whereby said toggle may be retracted from such position to permit said door to close, and spring means cooperating with said toggle when projected, to yieldingly hold the same against retraction, said toggle yielding toward retracted position upon contact with the side of the elevator shaft.

8. A holding and releasing device for sliding doors of elevator shafts comprising in combination a sliding door having an abutment thereon projecting out beyond the edge of the door sill into the elevator shaft,

van elevator car, a frame secured to the sill edge of the elevator car, inter-hinged plates forming a toggle, said toggle being hinged adjacent one end to said frame and adjacent its other end having a sliding connection therewith, foot controllable plungers mounted in the floor of the car and under the control of the operator, operative connections between said plungers and said toggle whereby said toggle may be projected in part into the path of closing movement of a door abutment when the door is opened, and whereby said toggle may be retracted from such position to permit said door to close, and a spring connecting the plates of the toggle and tending to yieldingly hold said toggle projected, the inclined faces of said toggle plates when engaged by the side of the elevator shaft, being forced inwardly toward retracted position.

HENRY G. VOIGHT. Witnesses:

Gwmmomnn A. JACKSON, Gr ms. E. RUSSELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

